Bug boy has a crush!
by TwistedPenguin
Summary: A certain bug-nin has developed a crush on a very fierce yet sweet pink haired girl. She, of course, has no idea, for the time being...R&R!
1. unexpected

"Sakura-chan..."

Sakura stopped abruptly. She was on her way to Lady Tsunade's office to deliver the routine medical reports. The voice sounded familiar...but she couldn't quite place it.

"Uh..yeah?" Sakura responded. She couldn't see who had called her, but she could feel their presence.

Just then, the stoic Aburame stepped out from behind a tree. He was clad in his usual goggles and jacket. How he could bear it, especially in this summer heat, Sakura would never know.

"Oh, hey Shino!" she said, cheering up immediately. Although they hadn't spoken often, when they did, it was usually a very interesting conversation. He seemed unfriendly on the outside, but, as Sakura learned, he was just shy. Once you got him out of his shell, he was great company.

"Hello, Sakura. I was wondering if you would like to go for a walk. It is a beautiful day." He spoke as if it were another mission, but knowing better, Sakura accepted. Shino's people skills weren't up to par, but she could tell when he was in leader mode and when he was in friend mode. This was definite friend mode.

"Sure" she said happily. "I just need to run these reports up to Tsunade, then I'll meet up with you!" she was glad to have something to look forward to after seeing Tsunade. It was Monday, so Tsunade was likely hungover and grumpier than usual.

"Good, meet you in the park in a few then?" he asked.

"Mhm" she nodded, and went on her way.

Once she was out of sight, Shino sighed in relief. He had been waiting all weekend for a chance to sit and speak with her. He was sure she didn't know, but she occupied every bit of free space in his mind. Ever since their first time actually having a nice conversation, he had been captivated by her. He remembered every detail. They were both on a C-rank mission. They had to oversee the building of a temple on the Fire-Wind border. It wouldn't have been so highly ranked if it weren't for the fact that the architect was the best of the best and had been kidnapped and held for ransom many a time.

While on their way to the construction site, they had stopped for food and rest. Shino had walked off to a nearby creek to get water for the team, which consisted of himself, Sakura, and Lee. Sakura had followed him, likely trying to escape Lee's constant advances and attempts to get a date from her. When they reached the creek, Sakura surprised him by collapsing to the ground, feet splashing in the water, and a soft smile on her face. Unlike most people, she seemed completely comfortable in the presence of the bug-nin.

As Shino filled the canteens, Sakura started talking. It was mindless chit-chat, but the fact that she was talking to him at all made Shino feel...different. No one, not even his own teammates, seemed this relaxed around him. She laid there, asking him random questions, him giving honest answers, for quite some time. It was only when Lee's yelling reached them had they realized how long it had been. It was time to get moving again. Shino capped the canteens and, along side Sakura, walked back to where the had left the badly dressed ninja.

Shino smiled, remembering the the way he felt around her, like he was just a normal person, not some bug freak or social reject. That is what lead him to the way he felt about her now. He liked everything about her. Her short, pink hair. Her jade eyes. Even her brute strength. There was something about her being able to kick his ass that made Shino like her even more.

"So, your into _her_?"

Shino looked around, startled. Kiba jumped from his perch on the nearby building. "What do you want?" asked Shino, agitated that he couldn't be left to his thoughts. "What do I want? Why, nothing at all!" Kiba said innocently. "I just think its cute that my teammate and dearest friend has a little crush on a crazy woman." Kiba said grinning.

"Don't call her crazy." Shino snapped. "Its not her fault that Naruto pushes her to her limit on a daily basis."

"Yeah, whatever." Kiba laughed. "Just keep in mind, if Naruto were to hear of your little date, he would have a fit" Kiba said, walking away.

Shino stood there, thinking about it. He knew that what Kiba said was true...and Naruto had a tendency to follow Sakura like a puppy on a leash. "Oh well" he thought to himself."Naruto can get over it. She probably doesn't like me back anyways..." the thought hurt, but he knew he had to tell her anyways. Naruto could go get eaten by a bear for all he cared. He just couldn't keep going on with all this commotion in his head. He didn't deal well with emotions, so he found it best to deal with them as quickly as possible.

He looked up to see the sun had shifted considerably since Sakura had gone off to Lady Tsunade's...so he decided to head to the park where Sakura was probably waiting...


	2. even more so

"Hey, Sakura!" Kiba called.

Sakura had been waiting for Shino by the small pond when the dog-nin approached her.

"Hey Kiba, whats up?" Sakura asked, happy for the company while she waited. Shino wasn't usually late, so she had more patience for him than for anyone else.

"Not much really. Just had a bit of a conversation with Shino. He was daydreaming in the streets, again" Kiba laughed at his own little joke. Sakura was not amused.

"I'm actually waiting for him" she said. "He is supposed to be on his way here so we can go for a walk."

"Woah, your actually voluntarily spending time with bug boy?" Kiba smiled, amused. "I mean, hes great and all, but his bugs are a bit too much."

Sakura glared. "Don't talk about him like that. His bugs have never done anything but help on missions and make him a great ninja. Much better than you, no doubt."

"So Sakura has the hots for the creepy-nin?" Kiba asked, trying his hardest to act non caring.

Sakura didn't respond, a light blush becoming more and more apparent on her cheeks.

"ITS TRUE! OH MY GOD! WAIT TILL THIS GETS OUT!" Kiba howled.

Then..._**CRASH**_.

The sound of Sakura's fist connecting with Kiba's face was loud enough to be heard throughout the whole village.

"You say one word, I will KILL you." Sakura hissed menacingly.

Kiba knew better than to push her any farther...he had better sense than that. He got up, wiping away the blood dripping from his nose. "Your secret's safe with me" Kiba said assuredly. "Better be" Sakura growled. Kiba, still bleeding, backed away, turned, then high-tailed it out of there before Sakura had a chance to swing again.

Unbeknownst to both Sakura and Kiba, Shino had reached the pond side several minutes before the whole ordeal and, sensing a change in the atmosphere, decided to mask his chakra and wait behind the tree for things to settle down.

Shino had heard everything and he couldn't help but to let a huge grin plaster itself to his face. Luckily, he had his jacket to hide it.


	3. finally

Shino stepped out from behind the tree just as Kiba was out of sight.

"Hello Sakura, I'm sorry to keep you waiting, I was held up." Shino said, as calmly as he could manage. His voice betrayed his inner feelings. In this case, that was a good thing. Sakura wouldn't know what to do if he acted how he felt. Squealing like a six year old girl while jumping up and down clapping his hands did not fall under typical Shino behavior.

"oh its no problem." Sakura said, slightly startled by Shino's sudden appearance. "I was just talking to Kiba" she rolled her eyes with this. Shino nodded, focused on keeping his cool.

"Good. Shall we then?" Shino asked, gesturing towards a path that ran thru a small section of woods.

"We shall." Sakura responded, smiling. She loved the way he spoke, so proper and polite. It was adorable.

As they walked along the path, talking about things that were neither here nor there, Sakura could tell that something was...amiss. There was something about Shino that was different. It wasn't so much in a bad thing, it was just odd.

Then, he suddenly stopped. Sakura turned to him to see what was wrong. Before she could ask, he spoke.

"Sakura, I would like to show you something." he said tentatively. Sakura looked at him quizzically, but waited. Then, he grabbed her hand, pulling her into the trees. Sakura was completely dumbstruck, never had they made physical contact, and now he was dragging her through the woods.

Finally, they stopped at a clearing and Shino relinquished her hand. He stepped away, embaressed. The sound of his over excited bugs was roaring in his ear. He had to remind himself that only he could hear them. It felt so strange to him...they had never been this loud before. He looked to Sakura, just to make sure she really couldn't hear their roaring.

"I'm sorry if I startled you" he said apologetically. "What I would like to show you needs to be done away from other people.

"Urm..thats ok..." Sakura said. At this point she was lost beyond all realms of coherent thought and and a bit nervous. She could tell that whatever Shino had to show her had a great importance.

Shino sighed, sitting down on the soft grass and motioned her to do the same. She did, not saying anything. Slowly...Shino unbuttoned his jacket, removed it and set it down beside him. Next, his hand moved slowly to his face. He took a deep breath, and took off his trademark Aburame shades, keeping his eyes closed. He was extremely nervous at this point. No one outside of his clan had ever seen him without his glasses, ever. He lifted his head, opening his eyes slowly. He looked at Sakura, the expression on his face saying "here I am, what do you think?".

Sakura's breath escaped her. As far as she knew, Shino never took his glasses off for anyone. Seeing him now, as Shino the guy, not Shino the leader, was mesmerizing. She felt...honored.

Sakura inched closer to Shino, taking in every detail of him. His lean, pale body, his jade-green eyes, his nervous smile. He was...gorgeous! Her own conclusion startled her. Sure, she had always thought of how things would be if she and Shino had been more than friends, but it was always in a daydream and never had she thought of any physical attraction. Now, that was definitely there.

Shino's hand on hers snapped her back to the real world.

"Sakura..I know this is kind of..well, odd." Shino started, stumbling over his words. He had never been in this sort of situation...he liked to keep emotions locked in a little box hidden in a closet in the middle of nowhere...However, after what he overheard between Kiba and Sakura, he knew that this was his chance. He already knew that she liked him atleast a bit more than a friend, otherwise she wouldn't have threatened Kiba with his life.

"Shino..." Sakura said softly. He looked up to her smiling face. Without warning, she wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tightly. The roar of the bugs in his ears was insane, but he was too caught up in the moment to think anything about it. He returned her embrace, wishing he could hold on forever.

"Sakura, as you may now have realized, I like you." Shino whispered into her ear.

She laughed.

"I like you too, Shino" she said back to him. No matter what situation he was in, Shino still maintained the mannerisms that she adored.

All of a sudden, they heard a crash.

"SAKURA!" yelled the hyperactive ninja. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH SHINO!?"


	4. spying is rude

Sakura, startled, fell backwards. Shino caught her before she hit the ground. He had already replaced his glasses and jacket.

"Naruto, it is not polite to spy on people" Shino said cooly. He had expected Naruto to show up at the most inopportune moment, the only surprise was that Naruto was able to mask his chakra as well as he had.

Naruto glared. "Shut up bug boy!" he growled. He turned his attention back to Sakura. "You...you reject me EVERYTIME, and now your all over THIS creep?" he yelled.

Sakura curled her fist. She inhaled deeply, and in the darkest voice either of the young shinobi had ever heard she she spoke to Naruto. "Creep?" she growled. "Let me tell you about this _creep. _He is an amazing ninja and an even more amazing guy. While you screw around, playing pranks on people and just being a general annoyance, HE is doing his duty as a ninja and doing what he can to be helpful. You are just an immature brat! I'd hate to see the woman that gets stuck with YOU!" By the end of her rant she was practically yelling.

Shino couldn't believe what he had just heard. Not only had Sakura defended him, but she called him amazing!

Naruto looked at the two standing before him, and took off, muttering inaudible obscenities as he left.

Shino looked to Sakura, whose fist was still curled in a ball. "Is that truly what you think?" Shino asked her, his voice barely above a whisper. He didn't want to say anything to break the silence, as if it were taboo, but he had to.

"Shino, it is true. You are an amazing person. You're insightful and intellectual. I love talking to you. You are so unlike most other guys, who act like complete dogs around a girl and talk down to them." Sakura looked down to her feet and mumbled "you are also incredibly good looking".

Shino looked at her in disbelief. He was shocked. For someone to speak so highly of him..and for it to be HER of all people...

"Sakura..." he said. "I honestly don't believe you know how much it means for anyone, you especially, to say such things. I too find you a favorable conversation companion and I love how you can hold your own against anyone, friend or foe." "And..." he said sheepishly "you are beautiful"

Sakura smiled. She walked over to him, placing her hand in his, and pulled him out of the woods and back onto their original path. They walked silently hand in hand for some time. When the end of the woods was in sight, Sakura stopped. Shino stopped with her, looking at her. His heart sank. Of course she didn't want to be seen with him in public. Who would? He was "the creepy bug guy".

That wasn't the case. Sakura pulled Shino in to her, kissing him softly. He just stood there, stunned. Sakura replaced her hand in his and pulled him along. They both walked out of the woods, back into the main part of the park. They could see the curious eyes on the two of them. It must have seemed odd, seeing the pink bubbly girl hand in hand with the generally calm and quite boy. With each stare, Shino feared Sakura would drop her hand, but instead she just held on tighter and moved closer to them. Then, from off to the side, they heard him. "HAHA! Shino! You go dude! And I thought I was the dog!" Kiba was running up to them, an idiotic grin spread across his face.


	5. in the end

Shino sighed, rolling his eyes. Aside from Naruto, Kiba was the last person he wanted to see at this point in time. It was just his luck that he would show up.

Kiba finally reached them, panting lightly. With a smile he faced Sakura. "So, I guess this means I'm off the death penalty?" he said, his grin plastered to his face.

"Yeah, your off the hook...for now" she replied.

Shino looked first to pink haired girl whose hand was clasped in his, then to his best friend. "Did I miss something?" he asked, trying his best to sound confused. He was still fairly certain that neither of them knew he had witnessed the ordeal.

"Oh, please" Kiba said rolling his eyes. "You already know, so don't waste my time.:

Apparently, Shino was wrong. A light blush spread across his face.

Sakura turned to face him. "You...you were there?" she asked.

"Well, yes. I was. I am sorry if it seems as though I were spying on you, that was absolutely not my intention. I just had no plans of interrupting the beating Kiba so surely deserved."

Sakura laughed at this. "Good answer" she said, smiling.

"Now, your turn Kiba" Shino said menacingly. "You spoke with both of us, yet decided not to say anything?" he was almost hurt by this. His life would have been so much easier if Kiba had divulged his info just a bit sooner..

"And ruin the fun? Never!" he said defiantly.

Shino just shook his head.

"Dont you have somewhere to be?" asked Sakura.

Kiba knew that tone of voice...

"Uh...yeah! Yes I do. I should go before I'm late.." he said. With that he took off.

Shino looked upon the rosette with admiration. Just looking at her, you couldn't tell how deadly she really was. However, just hearing her speak brought that fact back to attention quite quickly. Shino gripped her hand tighter in his.

The two continued their walk through the park in comfortable silence, glancing over to one another every once in a while and smiling when they caught eachother. Never had Shino felt so content in his life. The trouble of dealing with Naruto later was still dancing around in the back of his mind, he had better things to think about. The girl he dreamed of for so long was finally his. Nothing could dampen his spirits.

Sakura was thinking as well. It had been such a long time that her mixed feelings for the quiet Aburame had kept her mind preoccupied. Finally, everything was going well. She finally felt happy, like a void in her life had been filled.

"Sakura, may I ask you something?" Shino asked suddenly.

Sakura turned to Shino, curiosity in her eyes. "Of course, ask me anything" she said reassuringly.

"As I am sure you are aware, there will be many people with many questions. If..if they ask about..well, if they ask about us...what do you want me to say to them?" It took some time, but Shino was finally able to find the words that made sense. He was still so unaccustomed to this sort of situation, so he found it quite difficult to put his thoughts into words.

Sakura smiled. She could tell he was far out of his element. It was amazing to her that such a normally small ordeal in one's life could cause internal turmoil for a ninja that could keep a clear mind and keen sense of what to do about him even with a thousand shuriken coming at him.

"Tell them that you are in fact in a relationship with Haruno Sakura and hope to stay that way" she said authoritatively. "That is, if thats what you truly want." she added.

"Sakura, its more than I have ever dreamed of. To say that would just mock what I truly wish to say, but cannot come up with the words to do so" he said solemnly.

Sakura couldn't help but to smile. She couldn't figure out what she did to deserve someone this...amazing. Without warning, she wrapped her arms around Shino's neck and kissed him. Shino didn't hesitate to kiss her back this time. The kiss slowly deepened. Lost in each other's embrace, time seemed to stand still.

Neither could have been happier.


End file.
